Adam Podhola - Save the food

A leading human rights advocate and expert on eliminating food waste, Adam Podhola, 30, is among the younger generation of activists transforming East and Central Europe. A native of Slovakia Podhola was included on the 2017 Forbes list of “The 30 Brightest Czech Entrepreneurs and Innovators Under 30.” He was also featured in 2017 on a list compiled by The Financial Times and Google, of the “100 Change-Makers From Central Europe.”

A graduate of the master's program in international affairs at Prague-based Charles University, Podhola gave a TEDx talk in Prague about the food waste epidemic in 2015. He was also invited by the United States Embassy in Prague to Boston to join other young global leaders for a brainstorming session on how to improve socially-responsible entrepreneurship.

In a region that cast off authoritarian regimes in 1989, Podhola is determined to foster democracy, both at home and abroad. In 2013 he joined People in Need, the largest relief and humanitarian organisation in Central Europe, and travelled to Egypt during the Arab Spring to train other young activists. At a time of the rise of the anti-immigrant far right, he has also worked on anti-hate campaigns in the Czech Republic.

A passionate advocate of eliminating food waste, in 2016, Podhola co-founded Save the Food, which aims to end food waste in the Czech Republic. He organized a “jam session,” turning a Prague square into a giant makeshift kitchen and producing 1000 jars of jam from discarded apples and oranges slated for the landfill. Based in Prague, he is currently working as a consultant advising the food industry. Podhola is a running and music enthusiast.